After cleaning up the mess on her desk, Lin Qian let out a long sigh. Her good mood from the morning had been dampened by the incident.
However, work was the priority. She took a deep breath to clear her mind, calmed herself down, and focused on the day’s tasks.
After some time, her eyes began to feel strained. She took off her black-rimmed glasses and rubbed her eyes.
“Cough, cough…” Lin Qian coughed twice. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but her throat had been uncomfortable for the past few days. She had drunk some lemon honey water yesterday, but it hadn’t helped much.
She took a sip of water to soothe her throat, put her glasses back on, and prepared to get back to work when she happened to glance at the potted plant on her desk.
Every desk had one, but Lin Qian had never liked hers; she always thought it had a strange smell.
But today, it had been replaced. She only noticed it just now.
She reached out and touched the leaves of the new plant. It was quite pretty and lush—and most importantly, it had no odd odor.
She smiled.
Despite the unpleasant encounter with Liu Jie this morning, the day was turning out quite well overall.
The noisy neighbor upstairs had moved out, and the ugly plants had all been replaced. Things were… going quite smoothly.
Crash!
The sound of a cup shattering on the floor echoed from the break area.
Confused, Lin Qian looked toward the source of the noise.
Liu Jie had gone to the break area to pour some tea. Just as she finished pouring the boiling water, she heard footsteps behind her.
She didn’t pay it much mind and continued with her tea. To her surprise, the person behind her acted as if they were blind, walking straight into her.
The cup in her hand hit the floor with a loud thud, and the scalding tea splashed everywhere.
Liu Jie gasped. A large patch on the back of her hand turned red instantly. She cried out in pain.
“Who is it? Are you blind—” she started to shout, her voice filled with rage.
She cut herself off mid-sentence. Once she realized exactly who had walked into her, the words died in her throat, and she went silent.
Liu Jie’s eyelid twitched as she endured the pain. “President Su.”
Su Qingmo’s gaze fell upon Liu Jie’s scalded hand.
Liu Jie gave a forced smile. “It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I was just being careless.”
Su Qingmo’s eyes swept over her like a biting winter wind, cold and sharp. “Then be more careful in the future.”
Liu Jie’s expression froze. Her mouth twitched, the stinging pain in her hand leaving her in silent agony. In the end, she could only nod in agreement.
Su Qingmo remained expressionless, turned around, and walked away.
Liu Jie clutched her burn, hissing through her teeth as she watched Su Qingmo leave. A frown deepened on her brow. Why did it feel like Su Qingmo had come over there just to bump into her?
She arrived, bumped into her, and left.
Back in the office area, Xiao Yan poked her head out to watch. Seeing Liu Jie huddled over her desk, gritting her teeth while applying burn cream and hissing in pain, Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow.
“Retribution came fast,” Xiao Yan whispered. “She knocked over Lin Qian’s breakfast this morning, and now karma has caught up to her.”
A female colleague sitting next to Xiao Yan lowered her voice. “It’s strange, though. Why is she being so quiet? Usually, if she even trips, she complains all day about the floor being uneven.”
Xiao Yan burst out laughing. “President Su was the one who bumped into her. She doesn’t have the guts to complain unless she wants to be fired.”
Sensing eyes on her, Liu Jie looked up sharply toward Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan didn’t hesitate; she immediately shot her a middle finger.
Liu Jie’s eyes widened in fury. She was about to snap, but the waves of pain from her hand were so intense she didn’t have the energy for a fight.
Xiao Yan winked playfully at Lin Qian.
Lin Qian didn’t find the burn particularly funny, but Xiao Yan’s antics made her chuckle.
Just then, a voice came from the entrance. It was Secretary Li Linlin.
“Everyone, you’ve all been working hard lately. President Su has ordered milk tea and desserts for everyone,” Li Linlin announced, carrying several large bags.
The room erupted in cheers as everyone scrambled to get a treat.
Looking at the bustling crowd, Lin Qian looked away. She wasn’t in the mood to join the fray and quietly lowered her head to continue working.
Tap, tap, tap.
Footsteps approached and stopped beside her.
Lin Qian looked up to find Li Linlin standing there. The secretary placed a dessert on her desk and, before Lin Qian could say a word, turned to continue distributing the rest.
Lin Qian looked at the dessert, then at the retreating Li Linlin. She opened the container to find Rock Sugar Pear Soup.
Her throat had been bothering her lately, and she’d been coughing for two days. This was exactly what she needed.
Sipping her milk tea, Xiao Yan leaned over for a look. “Hey, why is yours different from ours?”
Lin Qian looked at hers, then glanced at the others. It was true—everyone else had cake or milk tea.
Xiao Yan looked closer. “Since when did Yuan Sheng start making Rock Sugar Pear?”
Before Xiao Yan could figure it out, another colleague pulled her away to chat.
Lin Qian didn’t think much of it. She took a sip of the pear soup. It was sweet, and almost instantly, her throat felt significantly better.
While she ate, she listened to her colleagues gossiping.
“The last time I had Yuan Sheng was six months ago. It’s so expensive; even a tiny piece of cake costs over a hundred yuan.”
“President Su is so generous.”
“Right? Definitely.”
“I have to post this on WeChat. I need to show off a little.”
The colleague who wanted to show off immediately positioned the Yuan Sheng logo on the wrapper and snapped four or five photos from different angles.
Someone teased her: “Give it a rest. Don’t act like such a country bumpkin.”
“Shut it. No one is stopping me from flexing.”
“…”
Lin Qian looked at her own packaging. Why didn’t hers have a Yuan Sheng logo?
After applying her burn cream, Liu Jie stood up to claim a piece of cake.
Li Linlin handed out the last dessert, looked at Liu Jie, and gave an apologetic smile. “I’m so sorry, we’ve run out. I must have miscounted when I was ordering; we’re one short.”
While everyone else happily enjoyed their treats, Liu Jie stood there awkwardly, not knowing whether to smile or frown. Finally, she slumped back to her seat with a dark expression.
Xiao Yan laughed so hard she nearly choked on her milk tea.
Liu Jie glared at her, though with her small eyes, there wasn’t much of a difference between a glare and a blink.
Seeing Xiao Yan laughing even harder, Liu Jie hit her breaking point. “What are you laughing at?”
Xiao Yan pointed to herself with feigned confusion. “Are you talking to me?”
Liu Jie’s face was cold.
“The milk tea is great, I’m just happy,” Xiao Yan said, raising her voice. “Wait, you don’t have any? Everyone has some except you? Oh, what a coincidence—we’re exactly one short, and you’re the one who didn’t get it. I wonder why? Maybe it’s a ‘character’ issue.”
The others, enjoying the drama, all looked at Liu Jie.
Liu Jie felt a weight in her chest, her face flushing red with suppressed rage.
Xiao Yan took another blissful sip of her tea, looking very much like a “petty winner.”
As quitting time approached, Xiao Yan took a deep breath. With an expression as if she were a soldier heading into battle, she knocked on the office door.
She expected the usual cold reception and a lecture the moment she made a mistake. To her surprise…
When Xiao Yan emerged from the office, several girls crowded around to check on her.
“How was it? Are you okay?”
“Don’t cry again. It’s just work; don’t take it too seriously.”
Xiao Yan had many friends, and a crowd immediately gathered to comfort her.
Lin Qian thought about how much Xiao Yan had helped her lately and wanted to offer some comfort as well, but seeing the crowd, she realized she couldn’t get a word in and gave up on the idea.
Liu Jie wouldn’t miss this chance and immediately mocked her. “How can someone get scolded every single day? You must be doing a terrible job.”
Xiao Yan rolled her eyes at Liu Jie and ignored her, turning back to her friends.
“President Su didn’t scold me today. And… you might not believe this, but she actually taught me things!”
“President Su is seriously amazing. With just a little guidance, I feel like I’ve learned so much. Everything I was stuck on before suddenly makes sense!”
“Ah, I’m going to be her biggest fan!”
Xiao Yan was incredibly excited, completely forgetting that she had been scolded to tears only yesterday.
Lin Qian nodded silently. That sounds more like it. She wondered what Xiao Yan had done to get scolded so badly before.
President Su actually loves teaching people. Every time Lin Qian went in, Su Qingmo would guide her one way or another. Though she never went into extreme detail, her slight suggestions were always enlightening.
Lin Qian couldn’t help but feel that President Su was incredible. If she were a copywriter, she would undoubtedly be the best in the business.
Wait, what am I thinking? Lin Qian shook her head. Someone as capable as President Su shouldn’t be “just” a copywriter.
Xiao Yan continued to excitedly recount the things she had learned from Su Qingmo, gesturing wildly with joy.
Liu Jie bit her lip, her face as dark as the bottom of a pot, as she hammered away at her keyboard in frustration.